OLYMPIA – Sport anglers will have the opportunity to reel in salmon off the Washington coast starting Saturday, June 24.

That’s when marine areas 1 (Ilwaco), 3 (La Push) and 4 (Neah Bay) open daily for salmon fishing. Marine Area 2 (Westport) will open a week later on July 1.

Fish managers expect slightly higher numbers of chinook and coho salmon will make their way through the ocean this year as compared to 2016, said Wendy Beeghley, an ocean salmon manager with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).

Due to the improved forecasts, the recreational chinook catch quota this year is 45,000, up from 35,000 in 2016.This year’s coho quota of 42,000 fish is an increase of 23,100 coho from 2016, when anglers were allowed to keep coho only in Marine Area 1. Coho retention is allowed in all four marine areas this summer.

Anglers fishing in marine areas 1 and 2 will have a daily limit of two salmon, only one of which can be a chinook. In areas 3 and 4, anglers will have a two-salmon daily limit. In all areas, anglers must release wild coho.

All four marine areas are scheduled to close to salmon fishing at the end of the day Sept. 4 but could close earlier if the quota is met.

However, with a month remaining in the fishery, only 43 percent of the coho quota has been reached for the coast.

“With so much of the coho catch quota remaining this late in the season, we can allow anglers to keep both hatchery and wild coho without exceeding our conservation objectives for wild salmon,” Milward said.

Through Aug. 30, anglers have caught 64,576 coho of the 150,800 coho quota for the coast.

Ocean salmon fisheries are currently scheduled to continue through Sept. 30 in all four marine areas.

Anglers have a two-salmon daily catch limit in all four marine areas off the Washington coast. Up to two chinook may be retained in Marine Area 1 (Ilwaco) and Marine Area 2 (Westport); anglers fishing off La Push (Marine Area 3) and west of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line off Neah Bay (Marine Area 4) can keep one chinook as well as two additional pink salmon as part of their daily catch limit.

OLYMPIA – Anglers can expect halibut fishing seasons this year to be similar to 2014 for the Puget Sound and coastal waters, with some additional fishing opportunities in the Columbia River area.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) sets halibut seasons using catch quotas adopted by the International Pacific Halibut Commission. The recreational catch quota for all of Washington’s areas is 214,110 pounds, the same as last year.

WDFW has revised the season structure for the Columbia River fishery to encourage anglers to fish for halibut there, said Heather Reed, WDFW coastal policy coordinator. The season for that area will run continuously instead of being divided between an early and late season.

“We continue to look for ways to increase fishing opportunity in the Columbia River area, where the catch has been below the quota in recent years,” Reed said.

Anglers will again be allowed to retain all bottomfish while having halibut onboard their boats in the nearshore section of the Columbia River fishery (Marine Area 1), which opens May 4 on a Monday-through-Wednesday schedule. Additional changes will allow anglers to retain flatfish – in addition to sablefish and Pacific cod – with halibut on board during the all-depth fishery that opens May 1 on a Thursday- through-Sunday schedule.

“In addition to some great halibut fishing, anglers can look forward to more opportunities to target bottomfish in Westport, Neah Bay and La Push,” Reed said.

For the first time since 2008, anglers will be allowed to fish for lingcod in the Westport area (south of 46? 58′ N. Lat. and seaward of 30 fathoms) on Fridays and Saturdays, from July 1 through Aug. 31.

In addition, anglers fishing in the deep waters off the north coast in Marine areas 3 and 4, west of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line, will have more days to retain bottomfish, including lingcod. Starting this year, the 20 fathom (120 ft.) depth restriction will be in place May 9 through Labor Day, rather than May 1 through Sept. 30.

WDFW considers management measures for coastal sport bottomfish fisheries every two years through the Pacific Fishery Management Council process.

Regulations approved by the council include depth restrictions and area closures designed to reduce encounters with yelloweye and canary rockfish in coastal waters. Anglers are also prohibited from retaining those species – and bocaccio rockfish – in parts of Puget Sound.

In all marine areas open to halibut fishing, there is a one-fish daily catch limit and no minimum size restriction. Anglers may possess a maximum of two fish in any form and must record their catch on a WDFW catch record card.

Changes to the effective date of the WDFW Sport Fishing Pamphlet will mean that the most up-to-date information on recreational halibut and bottomfish seasons and regulations will be found on the WDFW website http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/creel/halibut/ .

2015 Puget Sound halibut seasons

Marine Area 5: The fishery will be open May 15 and 16; Thursday through Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, May 21-24; and May 29 and 30.

Marine Areas 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10: The fishery will be open May 8 and 9; May 15 and 16; Thursday through Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, May 21-24; and May 28-30.

Marine Area 1 (Columbia River): Marine Area 1 opens May 1, four days per week (Thursday-Sunday) until the subarea quota is taken, or Sept. 30, whichever occurs first. Five hundred pounds of the subarea quota is reserved for an incidental fishery in the nearshore area, which will be open May 4 on a Monday-Wednesday schedule, which are the days the all depth halibut fishery is closed. Coordinates for the nearshore fishery are available online at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/creel/halibut/ . The all depth quota is 9,754 pounds; the nearshore quota is 500 pounds.

Marine Area 2 (Westport): Marine Area 2 opens May 3, two days per week (Sundays and Tuesdays) for three consecutive weeks (the season could close sooner if the quota is reached). The primary fishery is closed May 24 and 26 but will reopen May 31 or June 2 if sufficient quota remains and continue until the quota is achieved, or Sept. 30, whichever occurs first. The northern nearshore area will be open on May 3, and continue seven days per week until the nearshore quota is reached or Sept. 30, whichever occurs first. The quota for the primary fishery is 40,739 pounds; the quota for the northern nearshore fishery is 2,000 pounds.

Marine Areas 3 and 4 (La Push and Neah Bay): Marine areas 3 and 4 open May 14, two days per week, Thursdays and Saturdays, through May 23 (as long as there is sufficient quota). This area will be closed May 28 and 30. If there is available quota, the fishery will re-open June 4 and/or 6. Additional days could be added (Thursdays and Saturdays), depending on the amount of quota available. The areas would remain open until the quota is reached or Sept. 30, whichever occurs first. The combined quota for both areas is 108,030 pounds.

The Chinook mark-selective recreational fishery is now closed. The fishery operated under a coastwide quota of 8,000 marked Chinook. A total of 8,358 anglers participated in the fishery, and 2,798 Chinook were landed (35% of the quota).

All-Salmon Species Fisheries

The Columbia Ocean Area opened for all salmon species on June 22; the Westport Area opened for all salmon species on June 23. The La Push and Neah Bay Areas opened for all salmon species on June 29. Catch details for each of the areas are described below.

ILWACO

A total of 1,854 anglers participated in the all-species salmon fishery during the week ending July 28, landing 467 Chinook and 1,927 coho. No pink were landed. Through Sunday, July 28, a cumulative total of 3,059 Chinook (31% of the area guideline) and 8,432 coho (23% of the area sub-quota) have been landed.

WESTPORT

A total of 2,406 anglers participated in the all-species salmon fishery during the week ending July 28, landing 1,541 Chinook, 910 coho, and 308 pink. Through Sunday, July 28, a cumulative total of 3,910 Chinook (17% of the area guideline) and 3,475 coho (13% of the area sub-quota) have been landed.

LA PUSH

A total of 194 anglers participated in the all-species salmon fishery during the week ending July 28, landing 263 Chinook, 87 coho, and 49 pink. Through Sunday, July 28, a cumulative total of 758 Chinook (46% of the area guideline) and 495 coho (26% of the area sub-quota) have been landed.

NEAH BAY

A total of 1,572 anglers participated in the all-species salmon fishery during the week ending July 28, landing 565 Chinook, 556 coho, and 966 pink. Through Sunday, July 28, a cumulative total of 3,605 Chinook (74% of the area guideline) and 3,316 coho (43% of the area sub-quota) have been landed.

The Pinks are Coming!
“It is wall-to-wall pinks and lots of silvers up at Neah Bay, and it hard to get your line down to catch a chinook because you’ll end up nailing a pink or coho,”. “In no time the rest of the Strait will get inundated with pinks.”

Just east off Sekiu, the hatchery king fishing has been just fair at best, but there are increasing numbers of pinks and coho.

“Most of the boats at Sekiu are hanging in close to shore looking for kings, and the pinks are being caught further offshore,”. “I’m sure if they ventured father out they’d get into a lot of pinks. Some of the pinks I’ve seen at Port Angeles are decent size in the 5 pound range.” said Larry Bennett, the head state Fish and Wildlife fish checker in the Strait. “We had over 200 pinks checked at Port Angeles and they are catching them right along the shore.”

Manchester ramp — July 8: Five boats with 10 anglers caught four flounder.

Port Orchard ramp — July 8: One boat with three anglers caught no fish; July 12: One boat with two anglers caught no fish.

Glenn Street ramp, Bellingham — July 8: Four boats with 12 anglers caught one chinook; July 12: Two boats with six anglers caught one chinook; July 13: 34 boats with 88 anglers caught 36 chinook and nine pinks; July 14: 26 boats with 79 anglers caught 45 chinook, one coho and one pink.

Port Angeles West ramp — July 9: Three boats with six anglers caught four chinook and three pinks; July 12: 19 boats with 40 anglers caught 14 chinook, five coho and 47 pinks; July 14: 33 boats with 75 anglers caught 23 chinook, two coho and 61 pinks.

John Wayne Marine, Sequim — July 12: Two boats with six anglers caught three chinook.

Port Townsend Boat Haven Marina — July 8: One boat with two anglers caught no fishl July 9: Two boats with six anglers caught no fish; July 13: Five boats with 10 anglers caught three kelp greenling; July 14: Four boats with nine anglers caught one chinook.

Frankie B. at Sekui today with one of four fin-clipped Chinook’s to limit the boat out!

Fishing sizzles in July for salmon, steelhead, crab, trout, other gamefish.

Summer fishing seasons are now in full swing, requiring anglers to make some tough decisions about how to spend their time on the water. Salmon, steelhead, crab, trout, bass and walleye – all are now available for harvest in various waters around the state.

But for thousands of anglers, nothing beats the thrill of reeling in a big chinook salmon. Many are doing just that as waves of chinook move south along the Washington coast, then east into Puget Sound, coastal streams and the Columbia River.

“Fishing for both chinook salmon and hatchery coho should improve off the coast right through the month,” said Doug Milward, ocean salmon manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). “The same is true for Puget Sound and other inside waters.”

Six marine areas of Puget Sound open to salmon fishing July 1, joining other salmon fisheries already in progress. Various westside rivers, including the Bogacheil, Calawah and Nisqually, also open for salmon fishing that day, and Baker Lake in Whatcom County opens for sockeye salmon July 10.

Summer steelhead are another option – notably in Columbia River and many of its tributaries – where 339,200 adult fish are expected to move upriver in the coming weeks. As always, anglers are required to release any wild, unmarked steelhead they intercept in the fishery, which extends from the mouth of the Columbia to the Canadian Border.

Rather catch some crab? All but one marine area in Puget Sound will open for crab fishing July 1. The exception is Marine Area 7, where the crab fishery opens July 15 in the area’s southern portion (San Juan Islands/Bellingham) and Aug. 15 in the northern portion (Gulf of Georgia).

Crab fishing has been hot so far! Opening day we had 18 keepers in one pot out of Potlach state park on Hoods Canal. Also, on 7/4 two boats with five on one and 3 on the other amounted to 8 limits in 1 hour in the South Sound.

The crab fishery in all marine areas of Puget Sound will be open Thursday through Monday of each week. The season will get under way with a one-day opening (July 1), and will be closed July 2-3 before reopening on its regular weekly schedule Thursday, July 4.

Here are the numbers for the 2013 coastal salmon fishery as of July 4, 2013 updated.

ILWACO

June 22-23: 968 anglers caught 715 Chinook for 0.74 fish per rod, and 809 hatchery coho for 0.84 fish per rod and 1.57 total per rod average; and June 24-30: 2,364 anglers caught 683 Chinook (14.1 percent of Chinook quota of 9,900) for 0.29 fish per rod, and 2,607 hatchery coho (9.1 percent of the hatchery coho quota of 37,380) for 1.10 fish per rod and 1.39 total per rod average.

WESTPORT

June 23: 694 anglers caught 215 Chinook for 0.31 fish per rod, and 173 hatchery coho for 0.25 fish per rod and 0.56 total per rod average; and June 24-30: 899 anglers caught 274 Chinook (2.1 percent of Chinook quota of 23,500) for 0.30 fish per rod, and 202 hatchery coho (1.4 percent of the hatchery coho quota of 27,660) for 0.22 fish per rod and 0.53 total per rod average.

LA PUSH

June 29-30: 123 anglers caught 64 Chinook (3.9 percent of Chinook quota of 1,650) for 0.52 fish per rod, and 55 hatchery coho (2.9 percent of the hatchery coho quota of 1,890) for 0.45 fish per rod and 0.99 total per rod average.

NEAH BAY

June 29-30: 887 anglers caught 342 Chinook (7.0 percent of Chinook quota of 4,900) for 0.39 fish per rod, and 218 hatchery coho (2.8 percent of the hatchery coho quota of 7,780) for 0.25 fish per rod and 0.66 total per rod average.

COASTWIDE HATCHERY CHINOOK FISHERY

May 10-11: 629 anglers caught 72 hatchery chinook for 0.11 fish per rod average (0.9 percent of the total catch quota); May 17-18: 347 anglers caught 136 hatchery chinook for 0.18 fish per rod average (1.7 percent of the total catch quota); June 8-9: 762 anglers caught 208 chinook; June 10-16: 3,511 anglers caught 1,272 for 0.36 fish per rod average (20.2 percent of the total catch quota); June 17-23: 2,648 anglers caught 1,082 Chinook for 0.41 fish per rod average (33.7 percent of the total catch quota); June 24-28: 460 anglers caught 101 Chinook for 0.22 fish per rod average (35.0 percent of the total catch quota).

COASTWIDE ALL-SPECIES SALMON FISHERY

June 22-23: 1,662 anglers caught 929 Chinook (2.3 percent of Chinook quota of 40,000) for 0.56 fish per rod, and 982 hatchery coho (1.3 percent of the hatchery coho quota of 74,760) for 0.59 fish per rod and 1.15 total per rod average;

June 24-30: 4,273 anglers caught 1,363 Chinook (5.7 percent of Chinook quota of 40,000) for 0.32 fish per rod, and 3,082 hatchery coho (5.4 percent of the hatchery coho quota of 74,760) for 0.72 fish per rod and 1.05 total per rod average.